BishopAccountability.org
	Money Not the Answer for Catholic Church Musings of the Independent Mind [United States] July 15, 2007 http://bostonnow.com/community/blogs/boston08/2007/07/15/money-not-the-answer-for-catholic-church/ The Associated Press has learned that the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles will settle some 500 clergy abuse cases for more than $600 million, according to two sources familiar with the settlement. A formal announcement will be made Monday. It is unclear how the money will be split - or whether the judge will sign off on it. This would be the largest settlement since the sex abuse scandal began in Boston in 2002. To date, the largest settlements have been from Orange, California, who settled 90 claims for about $100 million in 2004, and Covington, KY, who settled 552 cases for $84 million last year, according to the AP. I remember going to Sunday Mass at my church shortly after those revelations were uncovered, and one of the priests there spoke very passionately about his livelihood. He essentially said, "The few who have engaged in these immoral acts are not an example of all priests." He pleaded for patience, with God's help of course, and he promised the congregation that we all would move on from this low point. Even though last year Americans gave $13 million to the church, and the number of complaints has gone down for the second consecutive year, the problem is still out there. The folks in LA can give these people millions of dollars but they don't address the main problem. Priests have to take a vow of celibacy before they are ordained. I realize that the thinking here is that the priest is pure in God's eyes but here's the thing: It is impossible to regulate human behavior. What convicted priests did to those little boys and girls is wrong, and it should never happen. If you take away the celibacy pledge, you'd see priests engaging in appropriate behavior in their own relationships instead of inappropriate behavior on their followers. It would make more sense for the Church to say that candidates who wish to become priests do not have to be celibate but they must prove that they are in a committed monogamous relationship for, say, at least five years. It would also make sense if the candidates were tested for STDs. Obviously, you are not pure if you have one or more, but I'd like to think God forgives you for past experiences. If you have HIV/AIDS, you would be automatically disqualified, because it would be difficult to maintain the proper fitness to preach. Priests who have abused children should be treated like a sex offender with special circumstances. In other words, they would be a convicted sex offender for the rest of their lives, and they should be removed from the priesthood. Rev. Daniel McCormack received five years in prison July 2 after pleading guilty to five counts of aggravated sexual criminal abuse involving young boys, so these cases are still out there. If something is not done to fix the problem - and it's not more money - these cases will be a permanent black eye for the Catholic Church.
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